Purchase File Cabinets For Your Office Based On These Options

Office file cabinets are necessities in the workplace as well as in many home offices. I thought that computers were suppose to cut down on the amount of paper we saved, but it seems like we accumulate even more paper these days. If you haven't shopped for a filing cabinet in recent years, you'll be surprised at the amount of options that are available. Here's an overview of the three kinds of office file cabinets we're going to discuss here: vertical files, lateral files, and fireproof files.

Vertical file cabinets were the original design. If you have limited wall space, they are a good choice as they take up less wall space than lateral files. Vertical office file cabinets do not accommodate both letter and legal size file folders, so you must select either vertical or lateral cabinets. The other necessary decisions are paint color, depth, pulls (if the brand you are considering has more than one pull style), and the number of drawers (2, 3, 4, or 5).

Lateral file cabinets are the most popular these days and also more versatile than verticals. Many workstations use two drawer file cabinets under work surfaces. Laterals will accommodate both letter and legal size file folders, so it's not necessary to make that decision. The folders will be arranged either side-to-side or front-to-back in the drawers. There are many choices for these cabinets. The necessary decisions are paint color, edge detail, choice of pull style, depth of cabinet, width (30, 36, or 42 inches), and the number of drawers (2, 3, 4, or 5).

Custom lateral file cabinets are available from some manufacturers, but they are more expensive. They are custom in the sense that you can "build the file" yourself; in other words, you choose each piece from the base to the top. Since there are so many ready made options, it is rare that you would need to go the custom route.

Lateral File Tips:

A five drawer lateral file is more convenient if the top module is a lift up door rather than a pullout drawer as it's impossible for most people to see inside the top drawer.

For a more finished look you can order laminate or wood tops for lateral files that will match the work surfaces in your cubicle or your desk top.

Fireproof file cabinets are not widely used. However, they do serve a purpose particularly since they double as a safe. The things you need to know about fireproof files is that they are expensive and extremely heavy. If you purchase a large size be prepared to pay a hefty delivery charge.

Purchasing Suggestions For Vertical and Lateral File Cabinets:

Choose high-quality office file cabinets that are made with a thicker grade of steel. This will eliminate warping or bulging cabinets when they are filled to capacity.

Purchase units that allow only one drawer to be open at a time, which will prevent the cabinets from tipping over.

Purchase office file cabinets made by the same manufacturer as the furniture in your office or your workstations/cubicles. There are several reasons why this is important:


The paint color or wood finish will match perfectly.
Choose the same edge details and pulls as your furniture.
All locking drawers can be opened with the same key as long as your furniture dealer orders it that way. It's called "keyed alike" and insist that your private offices as well as your workstations are ordered "keyed alike." If you order additional furniture with locking drawers, request lock cores with the same key numbers.

About the Author: Janet Vogel, who is retired from the office furniture industry, is now the owner of a website dedicated to creating Homemade Theme Gift Basket which she created to supplement her retirement income [http://www.homemade-gift-basket-ideas.com/build-your-own-website.html]

HON Lateral Filing Cabinets Make Office Organization A Breeze

Working in an office can be a disorganized mess or a breeze depending upon the type of filing system you are using. There is a wide range of high quality lateral filing systems available online, along with many other office storage options including vertical files, office desks and chairs and storage cabinets. You should make sure furniture pieces are always shipped fully assembled in order to ensure that they are ready for use immediately following arrival.

We have reviewed some of the most popular lateral filing cabinets that are available online. They come in four different finishes: putty, black, light grey and charcoal.

The HON 600 series Lateral Filing Cabinets: The HON 600 series of lateral filing cabinets offers files which are 30", 36" and 42" in width and 19-1/4" in depth. These filing cabinets were created in order to accommodate both letter and legal size filing, and leveling glides are adjustable. There is a three-part slide suspension which telescopes and is operated on a suspension with steel ball bearings. Whether you need a two-drawer lateral filing cabinet system, or a five drawer, HON's 600 series has exactly the filing cabinet to suit your needs.

The HON 700 series Lateral Filing Cabinets: The HON 700 series of lateral filing cabinets offers filing systems in 36" and 42" wide, with files which are 19-1/4" deep. All file drawers in the HON 700 series have drawer pulls which are full-width. The 700 series shares the same three-part, telescoping slide suspension which operates on ball bearings made of steel. The 700 series cabinets also have counterweight in filing systems with two or three drawers. The lateral filing cabinets in the 700 series are available with as few as two drawers, and as many as five.

The HON 400 Series Lateral Filing Cabinets: The HON 400 series of lateral filing cabinet solutions offers filing systems that are 30" wide, with files which are 19-1/4" deep in both two and four drawer styles. These lateral filing cabinets offer "one key" interchangeable core removable locks, and have a mechanical interlock in order to prevent tipping by allowing only one drawer open at a time.

The HON 500 Series Lateral Filing Cabinets: The HON 500 series of lateral filing cabinets offers cabinets which are 30" and 36" in width with file drawers which are 19-1/4" deep. These filing cabinets feature a flush case and monochromatic drawer pulls in addition to drawer-front stiffeners in order to provide an extra level of sturdiness to the cabinets. These cabinets are available with as few as two cabinet drawers and as many as five cabinet drawers.

The HON 800 Series Lateral Filing Cabinets: The HON 800 series of lateral filing cabinets offers cabinets which are 36" and 42" in width with 19-1/4" deep cabinet drawers. These cabinets are available in four and five-drawer styles with a shelf that rolls out and a receding door. Units with five drawers are also available with a posting shelf which is full-width and rolls out as well. These filing cabinets are available with as few as two drawers and as many as five, along with the option for up to two roll-out shelves.

The Hon 10700 Waterfall Edge Series Lateral Filing Cabinets: The HON 10700 series of lateral filing cabinets are high pressure laminate accented to be both stain and abrasion resistant. Rounded corners and a waterfall edge allow for a contemporary look, and the cabinet systems are available in three different finishes: Henna cherry, medium oak and Mahogany. HON's Waterfall Edge lateral filing cabinets feature HON's "One key" core removable lock, and come with a HON limited lifetime warranty. These cabinets are available in two or four drawer versions only.

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Everyone Hates Filing - Yet - Everyone Wants An Organized Office - Right?

True, I'm not typical because I really don't hate filing. In fact when it makes my searches shorter and easier, I actually like it. So will you once you get organized and start your home or business office the right way. The right way helps most of us not get lost in the paperwork shuffle when it comes time to find that important document that we know we saved. Some simple tips on storing, setting-up, sharing, and maintaining your new filling system can make the job easy rather than dreaded.
Store
First, you should determine where you will store your files. Will they be in an easily accessible desk or credenza drawer? If you do not have drawers available, should you use a file box on a shelf or a movable file cart? If there are a lot of files, are they better suited to a file cabinet? If using a file cabinet, should the files be located in your office for quick access or stored somewhere else? Once you make this decision and have the storage location set-up, you will move to developing the file system.
Set-up
When setting up a filing system, keep it simple so you and others will not dread maintenance. Use hanging files or selected drawers for main categories. Then place folders in the hanging file or drawer for sub-categories. When developing a file system, determine how many major categories you will need for the files. For most file systems, this can be limited to major categories between six and ten. Then create sub-categories within the major categories, if necessary. File main or major categories in order used most to least using hanging files with marked tabs. Make subcategories within the major filing be alphabetical, date, or numerical to make searching for folders easier. For example, filing financial data makes more sense by date, since you file taxes by year and pay bills by month. Filing customer information would be alphabetical by client name. File research and periodical clippings by subject category instead of by source name for quick retrieval. Whichever filing system you use, always file the newest documents in the front of the folder since you typically search for the most recent version of information.
Share
If using a shared filing system, then include a typed information sheet or index card on outside of file location so others can understand the filing system. For those files used by multiple people or that contain multiple folders, create markers for the location of the file when it is removed. These markers may be empty folders labeled "Out". Using a marker makes it easy to see that a folder is missing as well as where to put it back to reduce filing time. If you wish to further secure files and make sure they are returned you may want to also have an in/out log of who took which file and when it was brought back.
Maintain
Regular file maintenance includes both regular filing and keeping files compact and up-to-date by planning regular times to purge files of old or no longer relevant data. Try to file a document as soon as you are finished with it. If files are not conveniently located for instant filing, try to file everyday at the same time, whenever possible. If there is not a lot of filing to do, pick a particular day of the week to do all filing. For daily or weekly filing, have a holding place for file items until time for filing. Constant file maintenance includes each time a file folder is open and if it contains multiple sheets, quickly check through it to see if you can toss any outdated materials to thin file. If there is not a document control or configuration management requirement to keep old versions, be sure when you are filing revisions or reports to keep only the latest version.
Hopefully, these simple tips will make it easier for you to set-up and maintain a controllable filing system. Remember, to keep it simple so everyone that uses the system can quickly and easily find what they need or put away documents. Maybe now you too will find that filing is a simple necessity and not something to dread.
Copyright 2006 Shirley Lee. All Rights Reserved.







Shirley Fine Lee, author of "R.A!R.A! A Meeting Wizard's Approach", has worked as a training and development specialist since 1986, and an independent consultant since 2000. She has extensive experience, helping organizations with their team building, training development, meeting facilitation, presentation delivery, and other communication needs. This work involves developing productivity tools, presenting workshops, and writing. For instance, she has authored numerous training manuals and guides, on a wide variety of topics. Her programs include time management, getting organized, problem solving, and team building. Find out more about her and options she provides on her website.
http://www.shirleyfinelee.com

Filing Cabinets in the Modern Office Environment

The humble office filer scarcely attracts very much thought in our busy offices but a quality filing cabinet should give years of problem free service. Even with the current trend towards the paperless office, filing cabinets are still extensively used as the inescapable fact is that most offices still produce large quantities of written documentation and paperwork that needs to be filed away.
Filing cabinets are usually manufactured from either steel or wood. Of the two common materials used, metal filing cabinets are lighter, stronger, more durable and usually are supplied with a manufacturers guarantee of between 5 and 15 years depending on the quality of the filing cabinet supplied. Wooden filing cabinets are often very durable but usually are supplied with a guarantee of between 1 and 5 years.
Filing cabinets are designed to store tab files that hang on runners inside each filing drawer. One key design option to look out for when deciding upon a filing cabinet is full drawer extension. Basically this is where the filing drawers can be pulled out 100% so that the files located at the very back of the drawer are able to be easily accessed without the need to reach back into the cabinet to find the required files. Another important requirement is the anti tilt device which operates by stopping more than one drawer being opened simultaneously as the weight of drawers full of files could easily cause a cabinet to fall over. Files should be loaded into the bottom drawers of the filing cabinet first to assist with stability of the cabinet.
There are two common sizes of suspension file in Europe, foolscap and A4. Foolscap is by far the most commonly used size used in Britain and Ireland, whereas A4 is the most popular size in continental Europe. The runners that support the suspension files are usually built into the top of the drawer sides in a standard filing cabinet so the suspension files are usually designed to run from front to back. Some filing cabinets include conversion fittings to allow either foolscap or A4 sizes to be stored. Users must note that the drawer bases in filing cabinets (and particularly in wooden filing cabinets) are not generally designed to support great weight and so the filing cabinets should not be used as normal drawers.
Another popular type of filing cabinet is the lateral filer which is just an extra wide filing cabinet where the suspension files are most commonly designed to run from side to side instead of front to back. The alternative unit for storing suspension files is tambour system storage units with either a wooden or steel carcass that have been supplied with pull out suspension file frames. Eurpean office furniture manufacturers offer an extensive range of tambour storage cupboards with an excellent range of internal filing fitments. This design is far more popular in continental Europe. Pull out suspension filing units mainly accept A4 suspension files as standard, though often can be adapted to store foolscap suspension files.
Bisley filing cabinets are without doubt the leading brand for metal filing cabinets and their flagship BS range of cabinets are designed with durability in mind and are usually supplied with a 10 or 15 year manufacturers warranty. The BS series features fully welded construction with twin skin drawer fronts. Drawers are fitted onto roller ball bearing slides which deliver extra-smooth action and 100% extension. The Bisley BS range includes five, four, three and two drawer versions all of which accept either foolscap or A4 suspension files. The BS4E four drawer filing cabinet gives 2.2 metres of filing storage.







Martin Lloyd is CEO of UK based firm Deskshop Office Furniture. Martin has expert knowledge of the UK office furniture market including Bisley filing cabinets and wooden filing cabinets.